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Myeyesfranticallyscanthe woods as Denver and I search for Aria. We both cast our magic out, and I silently curse myself for not having the amount of energy Aria has, even though that level of power is impossible to fathom at times. I’m sure she cleared this area in no time at all, and she just lost track of time siphoning off her power. But then I saw the panic in Denver’s eyes when he said she’s been gone for nearly an hour now. He’d been waiting where they’d planned to meet for at least ten minutes, and given their animosity, I’m sure Aria wouldn’t want to lose in a perceived race to him.
It would’ve taken a normal student about that time, but Aria should’ve been able to cast her magic out as far as their section is wide and scan it in the time it would take her to walk to the lake and back. Even with the added time for emptying her pent-up energy, she should’ve made it back in half that time.
“Aria,” Denver calls again, and I hold myself back from doing the same. If she is facing off against some creature—however doubtful that would be—it’s best to make sure they aren’t prepared for the two of us. My nostrils flare as I track her scent, subtly leading the way while keeping that little secret to myself. Warlocks aren’t supposed to have an enhanced sense of smell after all.
“Dammit, Hart,” Denver grunts, his hands fisting at his sides as he chants the searching spell again and again. I barely convinced him to stay together and walk to the lake first before moving on through the next row of trees without letting my extra tracking tools out of the bag. Aria went in this direction, and so far there isn’t a trail that leads off in any other direction.
The dead pine needles crack under our feet and wildlife darts away from us, but there’s still no sign of Aria. I’d been trying to convince myself of the best-case scenario before now, but this is really not looking good. I should have done what I could to be able to track her, to keep her safe, but I never would’ve considered there’d be anything on these grounds that would harm her.
“Denver?” Aria asks, raising her voice to be heard over a gust of wind that whistles past us. My heart thunders, urging my steps forward, the bond that connects us finally kicking in as we near her. I want to run to her, to take her in my arms and shake her, ask her what the hell she’s been doing when the wind brings her scent to me along with another’s.
I can’t place it exactly, but I know a monster when I smell one, and this second scent is decidedly that. Maybe a water species, the scent of the lake mixed with it giving that much away.
“Aria,” Denver exclaims, his stride turning to a sprint as he rushes towards her. My steps falter as she runs towards him. Denver almost looks like he’s about to sweep her up in his arms, but they both stop short as Aria’s eyes lock with mine over his shoulder. The look must be enough to remind him that they aren’t alone, and he stops too, instead crossing his arms over his chest.
I swallow thickly, wishing I hadn’t witnessed that exchange. I always had that voice in the back of my mind that told me the animosity between them was more than that, but this confirms it. A flicker of jealousy lights in my chest, but I quickly push it down. Despite the bond, I barely know her, while they’ve known each other their entire lives. It just makes me wish I’d grown up in the life I was meant for, then maybe I would’ve met her sooner. And seeing Denver, of all people, with her only reminds me of the life I could’ve had. He has no idea how lucky he is. And even though they’ve kept it secret, at least he can still find ways to be with her. All eyes would be on us if I tried to get closer to her.
I stroll over to them, tucking my hands into the pockets of my slacks and attempting to hide my reaction to seeing them together. Because even if we had met sooner, there’s still an age gap between us, and who knows, we still could’ve ended up as teacher and student. It’s torture to see her every day, to have her so close, knowing what she is to me and not being able to do anything about it. I’d even thought that her power level was a way that we could get closer, that I could be near her while still keeping that boundary between us, but I hadn’t considered the ramifications that information might have. If anything, it made her push me away more than it brought us together.
But at least now I can look after her, I can come up with reasons for her to get away and expel her energy—well that is until she came back with the scent of a monster mixed with arousal clinging to her skin.
“We need to get back,” I say as I reach them, making sure to not meet her eyes. There are too many questions buzzing around in my mind, too much panic spiking in my veins, that I need to focus on one thing at a time.
“Wait, where were you, Aria?” Denver asks. He reaches out as though he’s about to grab her arms but he stops himself short, shoving his hands into his pockets instead.
Aria stalls, her eyes flashing between the two of us as she formulates what exactly to tell us. But she doesn’t need to lie to me, not when I know just how much danger she’s truly put herself in.
“I was just down by the lake,” she says as a crease forms between her brows. “I needed to cool off,” she huffs, making to stride past both of us but I step in front of her.
“I’m going to need to speak to you in private, Ms Hart,” I say coolly, hoping Denver believes that she’s in trouble.
“What?” She reels back and scans my face as though waiting for the punchline.
“The assignment was to clear the area and come back to your partner to begin your exercises, not to hang out by the lake all afternoon,” I say, my anxiety kicking up as I formulate a plan. If I can scent the monster on her, so can a shifter and I can’t let that happen. “We can continue this discussion in private.”
“But she really wasn’t gone for very long,” Denver says incredulously, attempting to place himself between us, but he seems to think better of it since he’ll need to push me out of the way to do so. “I was just being paranoid.”
“You can go practice your spells with the next team down, Harper and Jakob, until Aria returns,” I say, gesturing for Aria to lead the way.
“Like that’s a great idea,” he scoffs, narrowing a glare on me. “Harper will break down the door if she hears about this.”
“It’s all right Denver,” Aria murmurs. She’s about to place a reassuring hand on his shoulder when she stops herself short. “I’ll be back soon, and make sure Harper doesn’t do anything too brash.”
“Like she’ll listen to me,” he huffs, but finally relents and steps to the side. “Fine, but if you’re not back in an hour I’m coming to look for you. There’s no way you’re getting out of having your ass handed to you today, Hart.”
Some silent conversation seems to pass between them as their eyes meet, and a feeling of unease washes over me at having witnessed it. My jaw ticks at seeing her have that with someone else while I’m forced on the sidelines.
“Oh I can’t miss my chance to show you up, Prince,” she says, rolling her eyes as if it’s even a question who would win between the two of them.
“Let’s get going then,” I interrupt, my hands fisting at my sides to keep myself focused. Their heads snap to me as if both of them have forgotten that I’m even here. Great. “We’re only wasting more time.”
I move to the side and gesture for Aria to lead the way, ignoring her searching look as she passes me and strides back up through the gap in the trees. Some selfish part of me must kick in since I walk after her, separating the two of them as Denver is forced to either push past me or walk behind me. Thankfully he chooses the latter and the three of us walk back up to the school in silence.
“Harper and Jakob are in the next section over to the left,” I say the moment we step back onto the lush expanse of green grass, pausing to turn to Denver. Aria stops too, turning while Denver mutters something under his breath and stomps off in the direction I pointed him to.
“What’s going on?” Aria whispers, and I stiffen realizing she’s stepped closer to me. Her body heat radiates off her, the bond begging me to close those last few inches between us.
I shake my head and clear away some of the lingering thoughts.
